On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Mark Meadows testifies Georgia election call 'part of my role' under Trump

USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen explains why former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows argues his Georgia charges should be moved to federal court. Plus, Idalia brews in the Gulf of Mexico, USA TODAY Congress and Campaigns Reporter Ken Tran talks about 'Bidenomics' and why not all House Democrats are on board with touting Biden White House economic policies, this year's gubernatorial election in Kentucky might decide the future of voting rights for thousands of former felons, and 'Rich Men North of Richmond' has caught on as a conservative anthem. But its singer feels some have missed the message.

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Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and this is 5 Things you need to know Tuesday, the 29th of August 2023. Today, Mark Meadows and his pushed to move charges from Georgia to federal court. Plus, the latest on Idalia as the storm moves toward Florida, and what a governor's election in Kentucky could mean for the future of voting rights for former felons.

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Mark Meadows, Donald Trump's former White House chief of staff, testified yesterday as he continues his push to move his criminal racketeering charges from court in Georgia to federal court. I spoke with USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen for more. Bart, thanks for hopping on.

Bart Jansen:

Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

Trump's former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is a prominent co-defendant in this Georgia case. Bart, as a refresher, what's the indictment actually say about him and what he's been charged with?

Bart Jansen:

The indictment's pretty narrow, dealing with Mark Meadows as a high profile a figure as he was in the Trump White House. He was the chief of staff, so he calls himself sort of a traffic cop of what issues get to Trump, what meetings are scheduled, how long they last, all that sort of stuff. Well, one of the things that he arranged was the January 2nd, 2021 call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. And this was the call where Trump asked Raffensperger to find him 11,780 votes, which was how many he needed to win the state. So that has been taken to be an invitation to election fraud, and we're going to have to see how the criminal case plays out. But Meadows arranged the call and he led off the call. He participated in the call. So he was charged in the overall indictment with part of the racketeering, part of being this overarching criminal organization, but the only specific charge against him is solicitation of a public official to violate his oath of office. And that's a reference to the call basically asking Raffensperger to betray his office.

Taylor Wilson:

A hearing was held yesterday surrounding Meadows. What did that hearing center on, Bart?

Bart Jansen:

Well, Meadows is asking to move his charges from Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta, Georgia to Federal Court in Georgia. And if he were to get to federal court, he's also asking the federal court to dismiss the charges. Because under both the moving the case, and in considering the case at the federal level, Meadows is arguing that he was just carrying out his duties of office, and that there is a provision in the Constitution called the Supremacy Clause and there is federal law basically barring or hindering states form charging federal officials so that state level people can't interfere with the federal government unnecessarily. It stems from a Civil War era law to not have states basically still trying to retaliate against federal officials applying federal policy. But so, in this case, Mark Meadows is saying, "I was Chief of Staff. I am performing the duties that Trump is assigning me. They're wide-ranging duties." It might sound odd, lining up a call with a Secretary of State as part of your White House duties, but Meadows is testifying that that's the kind of wide-ranging portfolio that he held at the White House.

Taylor Wilson:

What impact could this decision on whether to move Meadows' charges to federal court have on other co-defendants in this case?

Bart Jansen:

At least five of the co-defendants in the case - there's Meadows, there's a former Assistant Attorney General named Jeffrey Clark, and there are three of the Republican alternate electors from Georgia - have all made similar requests to move their cases to federal court. I don't believe they have yet filed the paperwork like Meadows has to ask the federal court then to dismiss their charges, but I think they at least think that they would get a better hearing in federal court. Again, each of them arguing that because they were serving in a federal post that they deserve protection from state level charges. So each of those electors is saying, hey, they were chosen as electors for whoever the Republican nominee was in March of 2020, long before there was a dispute about the election, and they're each saying effectively they were federal officials, too. So they're on the sidelines right now, waiting to see how this case involving Meadows works out. Meadows is widely considered the best test case to see if they can move these cases to federal court.

Taylor Wilson:

Bart Jansen covers the Justice Department for USA TODAY. Thank you, Bart.

Bart Jansen:

Thanks for having me.

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Taylor Wilson:

Idalia continues to move into the Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to hit Florida's west coast as a powerful hurricane tomorrow morning. Life-threatening flooding, a massive storm surge and strong winds are expected along Florida's Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. Several Gulf counties began evacuations yesterday for coastal communities and low-lying areas, and more evacuations are expected. A state of emergency has also been declared by Governor Ron DeSantis for 46 of the states 67 counties.

Idalia is expected to push a storm surge as high as 12 feet in some areas if it makes landfall at high tide, according to the Hurricane Center. Storm surge flooding, when water levels rise suddenly along the beach and coastal waterways, is one of the greatest threats to life and property during a hurricane and has been a leading cause of hurricane related deaths in the U.S. according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And the Hurricane Center found that storm surge was the deadliest hazard during Hurricane Ian last year, claiming 41 lives.

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President Joe Biden continues to tout his so-called Bidenomics policies as the reason for a thriving economy, but not all House Democrats are comfortable with his economic message. I spoke with USA TODAY Congress and Campaigns Reporter Ken Tran to learn more. Ken, thanks for making some time for us.

Ken Tran:

Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

First off, Ken, what are we talking about when we use the word Bidenomics?

Ken Tran:

So, Bidenomics is what President Joe Biden has been touting as his economic agenda. It's a slogan for, really, all his legislative victories in Congress and what are objectively pretty good economic numbers. We're seeing inflation has been cooling from its record highs last year. We're seeing pretty low unemployment rates, and we're seeing overall high consumer confidence. So just by the numbers, Biden should have a lot to brag about.

Taylor Wilson:

The White House has argued that this economic agenda and other legislative wins have fueled this thriving economy. Ken, what policies do they point to as reasons for this success?

Ken Tran:

So one of those legislative victories was last summer when Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act. A major part of that was reducing prescription drug prices, or what it aimed to do, and also reducing the deficit. And also a lot of it was climate change initiatives, trying to promote green energy while at the same time combating climate change like the Biden administration has promised. Another part of that was also the CHIPS and Science Act, which aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing of computer chips.

Taylor Wilson:

Ken, why might this approach, touting Bidenomics, have flaws?

Ken Tran:

So, Bidenomics might not be the best sell for some voters on the ground because while the numbers are good, it's not much consolation if you can't make rent, for example, or you're struggling to get enough groceries to feed your family. In New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District, Congressman Chris Pappas, a Democrat, he's been pretty careful with bragging or touting Biden's legislative wins. A lot of what he told me was that he was just a lot more focused on listening to constituents, and he told me specifically that it's not about taking a victory lap. He said there's still more work to do, especially because if you're going to brag about something like the Inflation Reduction Act and how it's lowering the government deficit, a voter might not care about that if, for example, they just can't make ends meet.

One voter I talked to, she was at a roundtable discussion event with Congressman Pappas, she told me that she just became a mother of three, which is already pretty difficult. When she had her second child, they had to refinance their home to afford childcare because the budget was just that tight. And they had an unexpected third child, which made them have to... They had to buy a new house to have enough space to just accommodate three children. They have to deal with childcare and also just the whole cost of a new house, which is pretty recent. Her child is only just a few months old. She told me the cost of food is just going up, and she just doesn't leave the grocery store for less than $300 a week.

Taylor Wilson:

Wow. So you mentioned Congressman Chris Pappas and his constituents. How do other Democratic lawmakers feel about touting Bidenomics to constituents?

Ken Tran:

Sure. So other Democrats, while they might not brag or tout about the economy as much as the president, they think that at least they should be giving him some credit in their home districts. So, Rep Eric Sorensen, the Democrat from Illinois and also a first term lawmaker, he says that even though there's more work to do, there should still be some credit given to the president because these legislative victories are very monumental. One of them is the Inflation Reduction Act, for example. He told me that he's playing a lot of offense and even when he's talking with Republican constituents, he's telling them the benefits that that bill is giving to them with regards to clean energy, for example, or just reducing the deficit.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. Ken Tran, great insight for us as always. Thanks so much.

Ken Tran:

Thank you for having me.

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Taylor Wilson:

Like the last two governor elections in Kentucky, whoever wins this year could determine whether tens of thousands in the state who have completed a felony sentence will have the right to vote over the next four years. Kentucky is one of just three states where people convicted of a felony can only have their voting rights restored by actions of the governor. But a pair of executive orders in recent years have affected the right to vote for many of them. Former Democratic Governor Steve Beshear, just before leaving office, issued an order in 2015 allowing at least 100,000 people who had fully completed their felony sentences for non-violent or non-sexual crimes to file a form to restore their voting rights.

That move was then rescinded by former Republican Governor Matt Bevin. But one of Democratic Governor Andy Beshear's first acts as governor in 2019 was to issue a similar order to that of his father's, this time automatically restoring the right to vote for a least 140,000 Kentuckians. And the number of people who have had their voting rights restored due to the order has now grown to more than 190,000, according to his administration. Beshear now finds himself in a competitive reelection race against Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, raising questions about the future of voting rights for former felons. Cameron has been non-committal on whether he would rescind Beshear's voting rights order. The election is set for this November. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.

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Rich Men North of Richmond. The viral country song has become a surprise hit with millions of fans. The song from Oliver Anthony has lines like, "These rich men north of Richmond, Lord knows they all just want to have total control." And it's especially caught traction with conservative politicians and pundits. It was even cited as the lead question in the first Republican presidential primary debate last week as candidates were asked why it was having such a moment. Still, the singer himself is frustrated that it's become such a one-sided calling card. In a teary 10-minute video last week, he said that he's politically centrist and said, "It was funny seeing my song at the presidential debate because I wrote that song about those people."

Still, it can't be denied that the song has resonated with the American right. And it's seeing unprecedented success. It retained the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a second week, virtually unheard of for an unsigned and previously unknown artist. And it currently has 46 million views on YouTube. Its success, along with the surprise box office haul of the movie Sound of Freedom, as well as coordinated attempts to restrict access to certain books, speak directly to ways that conservative voices are no longer willing to cede the cultural high ground as the country moves toward another election. Some have criticized Sound of Freedom, which dives into child sex trafficking, for indirectly stoking far-right conspiracy theories. It's in the top 10 at the U.S. box office this year, beating out major Hollywood films like the latest Indiana Jones and Mission Impossible films. Joel Penney, a professor and author on pop culture said, "There's absolutely been more of a concerted effort in the conservative world to push into pop culture as one of their big battlegrounds."

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. If you like the show, please subscribe and leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. And if you have any comments, you can reach us at [email protected]. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.